RADIO SILENCE

︎︎︎ INSTALLATION / 2016
︎︎︎ PROJECT STATUS / BUILT
︎︎︎ VERTICAL STUDIO CO-TAUGHT BY RANA HADDAD + JOANNE HAYEK

PRESS

DOMUS, DAMN° 63, AA CONVERSATIONS, L’ORIENT-LE JOUR

A project that investigates the noise pollution of Beirut through an architecture design studio, Silence, conducted at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the American University of Beirut (AUB, MSFEA, ArD) with 3rd and 4th year students — co-taught in Spring 2016 by Rana Haddad and Joanne Hayek.

Through a sequence of design assignments, students addressed current issues related to intervening in public spaces with hand-built one-to-one temporary architectural installations. Silence culminated with four 1:1 scale interventions in four different sites of the city: the Gefinor Center in Hamra, Horsh Beirut in Kaskas, a Pedestrian Bridge in Dora, and an Abandoned shop on a Noisy Street in Sanayaa.

These interventions aimed to trigger a dialog about the soundscape of Beirut and its effect on the well-being of the population.

The project at Horsh Beirut aims to create an awareness of its surrounding environment. It tackles two different thresholds within the site using a common playground game that is yet absent from the horsh: the seesaw. Radio silence questions the barrier that exists between the different users by placing a seesaw as a gate belt on a permanently locked door.

Betina Abi Habib, Zeina Bekhaazi, Souha BouMatar, Mario El Khouri, and Karen Madi.